Wednesday, 16 April 2014

A dozen delegates led by Lord Berkeley and Adam Coffman
visited Belgium. With its impeccable political connections and eclectic mix of
Associate members from the world of cycling, the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group (APPCG) reaches people and
places that other technical tours cannot, and this always ensures that
discussions explore political, technical, social, legal and financial aspects
of cycling. Our party this year included parliamentarians, consultants, Police,
a cycle safety equipment inventor and cycle campaigners.

picking up the hire bikes - look at the width of the cycle track!

Belgium regards itself as Europe’s third cycling nation
(behind the Netherlands and Denmark) although there is a marked difference in
utility cycling which is split largely between the Flemish speaking north of the
country and the French speaking southern part of the country. Cycling is the
national sport of Belgium, exciting a similar degree of passion and
participation as football does in the UK.

the Lion of Flanders, a familar site to cycle racing fans

One purpose of the trip was to compare and contrast the
cities of Brugge (Bruges) and Brussels. These cities are very different. Bruges
is a compact small city of 120,000 people known primarily as a tourist
attraction. Brussels is Europe’s capital
and one of its busiest multi-cultural cities, attracting residents and visitors
from around the world. One is historic, compact, picturesque and flat, the
other has expanded beyond its historic mediaeval core area into a sprawling
metropolis, home to over 1 million people as well as attracting a large
commuter population each day. It is not surprising therefore that cycling in
each city is a markedly different experience.

residential cycle parking lockers, Bruges

Our visit started in the historic city of Bruges, famed for
its attractive canals, market squares and cobbled streets. Immediately outside the station was a large
secure Fietsenstalling (cycle park) from where we picked up our rental bikes.
Around 20% of rail travellers use a bike to access the rail system in Belgium,
and over 77,000 cycle parking spaces are provided at stations.

The hire bikes are ‘Blue Bikes’ a national station-based
cycle hire scheme inspired by the OV-Fiets system in neighbouring Holland. The
bikes can be hired from over 40 locations throughout Belgium for €3.00
per day. The sturdy bikes come with 3 speed gears and a handy basket on the
rear rack.

The other immediate impression was that the 5.0m wide
two-way cycle track outside the station was considerably wider than the
adjacent one-way drop-off lane for car traffic, and it was surfaced in
immaculately smooth red tarmac.

We set off on a short journey through the suburbs to meet
the Mobility Minister for Flanders (Hilde Crevitz) and other officials from
Bruges and the Flanders region. Our journey involved a ‘mix’ of infrastructure,
including cycle tracks, shared use paths, cycle lanes and quiet streets. Not
everything was perfect. There were some poor surfaces and restricted width in
places, but there was a great sense of ‘continuity’ and crucially the busiest
intersections were grade separated or had separate signalled crossings.

Patrick D’Haese gave a short presentation about cycling in
the region. Some key facts include:

·Annual cycling budget for 2014-15 is €100m (up
from €60m) within an overall transport budget of €3bn. The Flanders population
is 6 million people. i.e. €16.6 spent on cycling per head of population.

·Cycling mode share is currently 12.9%. There has
been an increase in city cycling but a decrease in rural areas.

·Cycling deaths have fallen from 122 in 2000 to
64 in 2012. There are about 1000 serious injury accidents to cyclists each year,
a 7% annual decrease.

·1750km of new or refurbished cycle routes
created in Flanders since 2009

·The Integrated Cycling Investment Programme has
identified a future potential network stretching 12,000km. This will include
facilities delivered via new developments as well as government funding.
Changes have been made to planning policy to facilitate cycle track
construction.

·Cycle track standard is 5.0m preferred width,
4.0m minimum

·Broad aim is to separate cycling from other
modes. General design criteria is <30kph mix with traffic, <50kph cycle
lanes, >50kph cycle tracks.

·There are 72 grade separated cycle crossings
(bridges and underpasses) in the regions and many of these are developed as
‘landmark’ projects.

·Other innovations include a specialist machine
for analysing cycle track surface quality and special equipment for snow
clearance and winter maintenance of cycle tracks.

Following lunch, we cycled to
one of the landmark bridges, the impressive ‘Y Brugge’ a forked bridge over the
N31 on the outskirts of Bruges. The impressive structure offers a safe crossing
over a busy road intersection. It was installed in 2013 at a cost of €4m.

the Forked Bridge, Bruges

Returning to the city centre, we
learned that around 60% of traffic entering the ancient walled city area is
bicycles. There are 3,500 public cycle parking spaces in the centre, including
a section of an underground car park in the central square. In addition, 600
‘mobile’ parking spaces are available for events such as the Tour of Flanders
cycle race which took place the day before our visit. We also noted some
on-street cycle parking shelters within the residential areas so that people
living in terraced housing with no outside space are able to securely store
bicycles.

entrance to underground cycle park and car park, Bruges

Our trip to Brussels was hosted
by Kevin Mayne of the European Cyclists Federation (ECF). We picked up our Blue
Bikes from the central station and pedalled to the ECF headquarters through
some of Brussels quieter streets in order to avoid the busiest roads during the
rush hour. The experience was very familiar to those of us used to riding in UK
cities, mixed traffic, lots of parked cars, busy roads to cross and the need to
‘take the lane’ in order to turn left (right in UK). It was hard to keep
together as a group in the intensity of traffic and with differing ability to
cope with the hills, so there were frequent stops to regroup.

contraflow cycle lane outside parking bays, Brussels

Brussels is a useful city to
look at for UK planners. It has no inherent ‘cycling culture’. Cycling is more
popular among the expat population (about 11% cycle regularly) than the local
population (around 3% regular cyclists). Cycling in Brussels currently accounts
for about 4% mode share, an increase from just 1% in 2007.

At the ECF we learned about
their work with cycling organisations throughout Europe. Their major initiatives
include:

·The Euro-Velo network of Europe-wide cycle
routes

·The Velo-City conference which has become the
most prestigious event for cycle planners attracting over 1400 delegates.

·Involvement in various research projects funded
by the European Union as a way to raise the political profile and lever more
funding for cycling.

·Working to influence policy decisions across all
relevant sectors within the European parliament.

The ECF has a unique Europe-wide
perspective on cycling. It’s aim is to help countries to work towards an
average 15% mode share for cycling across the EU by 2020. It is estimated that
the current economic benefits of cycling are worth €217bn across the 27
European countries. The UK does not always fully exploit opportunities for
funding for cycling from the EU. 6bn There is a target for €6bn funding for
cycling during the period 2014-20. Currently countries such as Hungary, Poland,
Czech Republic and Germany are all receiving over €100m for cycling projects
from Europe. UK politicians can do more to ensure that our partnership
agreement and operational programmes incorporate cycling to ensure that funding
is made available.

We were also given a brief
introduction to cycling in the Brussels region by Frederik Depoortere. Some of
the key facts he shared include:

·Brussels has an €11m annual cycling budget for a
population of 1.1m people (i.e. approx. €10 per head).

·There is 60% car ownership across the region
(relatively high).

·There is >100m height difference across the
city including hills in the central area.

·A 265km network of 19 strategic routes has been
identified at approx. 400m spacing. Mainly signed routes on quieter streets.

·A public bike system (similar to the London
scheme) operates in the city centre.

·Due to the topography of the city with a lack of
direct alternatives, a high proportion of cycle trips is on the main roads.

·Around 80% of one-way streets have unsegregated
contraflow, around 400km in all. These streets have a good safety record.

·Non infrastructure interventions include a ‘3
day bike buddy’ where a motorist is paired with an experienced cyclist,
resulting in 80% success in permanent change of mode. Around 400 people per
year are involved.

·There is an annual Car Free Sunday event.

At the European Parliament we met Brian Simpson, Chair of
the European Transport Committee. He was able to update us on the European
Infrastructure Safety Directive and in particular progress on HGV design
(passed by Parliament on 15th April) to make them safer for
pedestrians and cyclists.

the politicians pose for the Het Nieuwsblad photographer

Local politicians joined us for lunch, and were able to talk
to them at length about how cycling was perceived locally, and how progress was
achieved through general consensus among the main parties. We rounded off the
afternoon with a visit to some of the cycle infrastructure that has been
introduced in recent years. This includes cycle contraflow lanes alongside
parking bays, adjacent cycle tracks at footway level, ‘cycle streets’ where
cars are required to wait behind cyclists and cycle lanes to the offside of
right-turn lanes to help reduce conflict from ‘right hook’ turns (left hook in
UK). There is some tension between regional level government and city level. An
example of this is that a cycle lane was painted overnight (replacing a traffic
lane) on a road administered by regional government to avoid discussion about
capacity with the city officials!

cycle lane through junction to offside of right turn lane, Brussels

shared use cycle contraflow with signal control crossing, Brussels

The study offered an excellent contrast between what is
possible where cycling becomes more fully established and accepted as a main
mode of transport and the challenges of introducing cycling to congested cities
where space is at a premium and cycling is regarded as a fringe activity.

Tuesday, 8 April 2014

Spring can be a bittersweet time for many people. The end of the dark winter days, warmer weather, spring flowers and lambs in the fields. It should be a great time of optimism, indeed a time to put a spring into your step.

For me the site of daffodils often reminds me of a day 20 years ago this year when I decided to take my own life. It was a beautiful crisp bright day, cold and sunny with that hint of a smell of summer to come in the air. The daffodils in question were all over the grassy banks below York's historic city walls. I was in the midst of a lengthy and protracted break up with my girlfriend of 5 years, we were squabbling over the sale of our house, my work was going badly and as often happens in a divorce, friends thought it might be helpful to 'take sides'. I didnt want them to be nasty about my ex, and I was stunned how some people reacted to me when she and I were attempting to part as amicably as we could. Slowly but surely I withdrew from the world, only maintaining the social contact required of my job. I wasn't particularly feeling sorry for myself, it was more that I was determined (in the words of Simon and Garfunkel) that I would be a 'rock' - cos a rock feels no pain. The line from that bloody song I am a rock, I am an island, cos a rock feels no pain, and an island never dies was almost an internal mantra throughout that time. It is surprisingly easy to become isolated. Say no to invitations a few times and soon the phone no longer rings, probably more so if you are a divorce bore or just plain miserable!

That day I realised that I was feeling nothing, there was no pleasure to be had from the spring sunshine. There was nobody to share it with. Thanks to a quick witted passer by, a community psychiatric nurse and the Samaritans I lived to tell the tale. It wasnt the best time in my life, but during that recovery I could feel myself getting mentally stronger. But like many people I kept it quiet, didn't tell my family what happened, told work I was ill for a week and then went straight back. Just one person knew about it. I often wonder how many people go through these dramatic events completely unremarked.

Last night, as I sat in a hotel room in Belgium I had a phone call. My best friend, a cycling buddy that I've known since I was 15, was found in a lonely part of Halifax with deep cuts to his wrists and legs. He's still in the intensive care ward but he is going to pull through. We've been on some pretty brutal hard bike rides together over the years, through all that the Yorkshire hills and winters can throw at us. I know that together we can always keep going.

I should have seen the signs. He stopped cycling, then stopped going to the pub, then I hadn't heard anything for a few weeks. But of course I was busy, and that day I rode past his house without stopping I was training for an event, and then I was working away a lot, and well, yes he just hasn't been as much fun the last few times we went out.....

I'm visiting him tomorrow. Making time for that visit that I didn't make a few weeks ago. Because he's important to me now. He won't be lining up with me this Sunday morning for our local spring audax ride, but he should be. I'm going to make sure we are both there next year.

Cycling is a great way to keep the 'Black Dog' at bay, but everybody needs a little extra help from friends at times. We should never forget that, and we should talk about it.

About Me

I'm a transport consultant with Phil Jones Associates. I work on infrastructure, policy advice, strategies and encouragement initiatives that help increase cycling. I also provide advice on these issues to British Cycling, working alongside Chris Boardman and the British Cycling campaigns team.